Another thing it's great for is sculpting new fingers, toes, feet or even an entire part if your talented or have another on a different doll that you can use to make a mold.
It hardens like a rock and can be drilled, sanded, and even carved with a Dremmel tool.
I also used it to hold eye rockers in place inside the head.
On the doll above I broke off the loose compo and brushed Elmer's Glue sell into the cracks to keep more from getting loose and breaking out. Then I pushed the Milliput under into the cracks to fill them and smoothed as much as possible. A few hours later I used a coarse grade sanding sponge and sanded off the ridges of the lifted compo. I ignored any small holes that the sanding uncovered, and continued to sand with a medium grade sponge and finally a fine sponge.
Now it was time for painting. I used my air brush with oil base paint and with a very heavy spray, put on a coat that literally dripped off the head. I put the head on a cup so the face was up and let it dry for a couple of days.
Once the paint was dry, the imperfections were much more visible but a lot of them were filled in. So I sanded again. The chin was still not built up enough and was showing a ridge where the old compo had not been pealed away. I took a small piece of Milliput and this time built us his chin and smoothed it into the ridge. For any small dents or holes, I stuck some Milliput to my finger and dipping it in water, slathered it across the holes and ridges. I wouldn't have been able to do this before painting without exposing the compo core to moisture and this is not a good idea. A few hours later I sanded again and the next day, painted normally with the airbrush. Then I painted with the air brush and used a fine sanding sponge between coats. After about ten coats of paint, I hung the pieces to dry completely for about a week. For a final sanding, I buffed with 0000 steel wool. I wiped off the surface with a soft cloth and finally it was time to paint the features.
I used the "Before" photo for reference. The hair is painted from the air brush. Be careful to go lightly and blend stopping short of the hair line. There should be no hard line of hair color. Nothing looks worse and it just screams "repaint!".
To paint features I use I water based colored inks and the best brushes I can find. Sable are hard to come by but there's nothing better. When you're trying to control a line, you want a brush that comes to a fine point with no stray bristles sticking out to complicate matters. It also has to be thick enough to hold enough paint to complete several lines. I use a plate to draw lines with the brush until I get one thin enough to try it on the doll. A point and drag motion works for me when it comes to those tiny lashes and brows. The reason I use water based inks is that if I make a mistake, I can wipe it off and start over. For the Scootles, there were several places when painting the eyes that there was a possibility for the paints to run into each other. So I painted the whites and then sprayed with clear varnish. WHen it was dry, I painted the blue and the mouth and again, hit it with the varnish. Then the black center of the eye and the lashes. Then more varnish. Then the white dots on the blue and the blush. For blush, I actually use makeup blush (a good brand with no sparkles) and a big brush. Load the brush and push it into the surface while holding the bristles. When it's the right amount, once again, use the varnish over the entire piecs.
The head is the hardest because of the details, but the process is the same for the rest of the body.
Hard plastic won't have craze lines, but it can have cracks or broken fingers or if you want to do eye repair, it's easiest if you open the head along the seam. How do you get it back together again? Milliput, of course!
Milliput has some nice properties. It doesn't shrink as it hardens so the shape you sculpt is what becomes like stone. It doesn't pull away from hard surfaces so it's wonderful for filling. It's very fine so it can be pushed into craze lines and under cracked surface paint and keeps cracks from going further because it bonds with both the surface and the lifting paint. Once it's hard, it is waterproof, so moisture isn't the threat it is to compo, although it bonds and blends with the surface flawlessly. Below are some links to sights showing how it's used for all sort of projects and repairs. Now I'll be showing it often on the Hospital Page!
Milliput's Home Page
New Zeland Distributor
Milliput Man!
Bradshaw & Whelan Restoration & Conservation
Ricky Swallow
David Drage
....and there are hundreds more out there!
My first shipment should be arriving soon!
The price is $16 for the 4 oz package plus $4.60 Priority Mail shipping and insurance within the continental United States.
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